japan as the next expansion plz

[Callahan9119]

japan was a great start for the franchise, small map, similar units for all factions. i feel this would be easy to revisit via an expansion and given the advances in the tw series a japanese based game would not fit the bill as a stand alone release imo

i really hope they dont go the route of using the same map as m2tw, i despise the lack of glorious achievments in m2tw and if its a conquest based game, where better than japan for this?

some might say the americas or napoleon era, but i dont think the engine or the AI is ready for gunpowder heavy combat as its main basis, and frankly i feel japan is more interesting as an expansion than any further conflict in europe, as this has basically been the stage for the past 4 releases

unless they are planning the next game to move way east, and includes china, japan, korea and india

conquest victory just doesnt feel right in medieval times, conquest in japan feels oh so right

[caius britannicus]

Its already been confirmed that the expansion pack for m2 will be the americas. Hopefully though, the next total war game will be Shogun 2.

[PseRamesses]

Its already been confirmed that the expansion pack for m2 will be the americas.

Where did u get that info. Nothing on CA, SEGA or TW-sites to confirm. Do post links or source. Thx.

[caius britannicus]

jeux-france.com posted the article back when m2tw was being released. It was later confirmed by another source. I'll see if I can find. I figured by now it was common knowledge. There was tons of hoopla here and at the TWC about it with plenty of discussion.

EDIT: it wasn't jeux_france but jeuxvideo anyways they say that an expansion is already in the works at CA and focuses on the americas.

http://www.jeuxvideo.com/news/2006/00018446.htm

"Pas de répit pour les vagues presque mensuelles d'images autour de Medieval II : Total War. C'est bien l'offre multijoueur qui a été l'objet des plus grandes attentions des développeurs, prenant appui sur les critiques formulées par les joueurs à la sortie de Rome : Total War. Une extension serait déjà prévue dans les locaux de Creative Assembly, et devrait porter sur le continent américain et les guerres aztèques. Pour l'instant, concentrons-nous sur cet opus général qui sortira pour Noël."

Translation:

No respite for the almost monthly waves of images around Medieval II: Total War. It is well the multijouor offer which was the object of the greatest attentions of the developers, fascinating support on criticisms formulated by the players at the exit of Rome: War Total. An extension would be already envisaged in the buildings of Creative Assembly, and should relate to the American continent and the Aztec wars. For the moment, we concentrate on this opus general which will leave for Christmas.

[Callahan9119]

it would prolly sell more games, yet ruin the franchise, example final fantasy

america has nothing to offer with this engine or this AI, TW will never be civ, warcraft or any other consumer juggernaut, be inventive, not predictable...revisit shogun now, and put a stake in it, then move on and get brilliant...the easy mode is making a half assed expansion for americas and not having the tools to do it right, nothing from the campaign map, battle engine or AI to put to life the complex nature of the american adventure

my god, you could make a damn interesting game from the conflicts of the east, china and asia in general was very crazy place, and perfect for a game of war

i would love a game of various native american tribes, with any euros being only an event, and the game focusing on the tribes and the focus on diplomacy between native people and repelling the invaders as an expansion though...that would solve alot of problems with not making the game a france vs england approach to war, so less of a gunpowder dynamic

change merchants to a hunting party to profit from areas with buffalo etc, but maybe add them to an army...and they can collect while grouped with the army...doubt this can be done easily...but a fight over recources would be more fun than the standard land grab

recources, diplomacy and the fight vs the white man, that i could dig

[Lusted]

I seriously doubt we would see Japan in an EXPANSION, given the fact the game is Medieval II Total War. Im hoping we might see a revisited, expanded Shogun 2 (including China, Korea, Mongols) for the next TW game though.

[The Foolish Horseman]

shogun 2 wud be good, probs the best seller

[Lorenzo_H]

Not everybody likes Samurais and stuff like that I'm afraid. I personally find it a period of history to be a bit distastful - I much prefer European and gunpowder era content. Which is why I am of the opinion that Napoleonic Total War or similar should definitly be the next game in the series.

[Orda Khan]

Muskets, lancers and cannons? Not my cup of tea and a completely different format IMO.
A campaign centred around ancient Chinese regions would offer a great setting

.......Orda

[llewellyn]

what about a greek expansion game, set before rome. that could be cool cus it would be indivivual city states then foreign empires colidding. it could make for some fairly intense play

[JCoyote]

I'd like to see China.

I wonder if the new expansion is going to be a bit more of speculative history? A What If game involving the americas?

It might not be a bad formula... core game is fundamental history, expansion is speculative/alternate history... like for example, making a Civil War game, then making an expansion that's Harry Turtledove's How Few Remain/Great War. I wouldn't want to see that as a primary game, but it feels like good fodder for expansion.

Other than that, I'd really like to see something using China. Something that covers China, Korea, Japan, and southeast Asia could be a blast and cover a lot of time.

[IRPhydeaux]

I gotta call for a fantasy version. How many of the Mods on here revolve around some kind of fantasy series. I'm just thinking a generic tolkienesque world populated with a variety of fantastic units.

Aiming for strategy and battlefield tactics rather than story or action. Might be a big seller.

[Lorenzo_H]

Muskets, lancers and cannons? Not my cup of tea and a completely different format IMO.
A campaign centred around ancient Chinese regions would offer a great setting

.......Orda

I think that if anything M2TW shows us its potential with muskets and cannons.

[JCoyote]

There are plenty of sword and sorcery games. I don't want to see that. There are TONS of them out there, it's a glutted market. Just like WW2 games.

I want to see history, with arguable comparisons of real or probable things. Not how yet another D&D'er thinks make believe elves should compare against make believe dwarves.

It's cool to have some games based on reality. I'm not interested in seeing airstrikes by broom riding harry potter kids or people arguing about how long it would take for a dragon to spit fire "in real life".

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

I think the next game will be ROME 2, or something similar. Greece Total War, maybe.

Japannese era warfare is a small market in reality. Europe allows a very large percentage of your consumers to "play their ancestors" and this includes America. Japan offers that for a much small customer base, as such we are unlikely to see a new Shogan.

If anything the next game will be broader in scope, not narrower.

[Marquis of Roland]

I think that if they were going to make a game based on muskets and cannon, they need to do Europe about 1600-1800, not exclusively America. A european campaign of that time period can include Americas, while an Americas-based campaign cannot include Europe. Plus if an Americas-based campaign was made, it will be hard to include a good tech tree and buildings (I mean, you go from smooth-bore muskets to rifled muskets and you're pretty much done right). A Europe-based campaign from 1600-1800 should give plenty of upgrade opportunities.

Anyhow, I think that a medieval Asia period came would fit perfectly with MTW2. It basically includes pretty much every kind of unit already in MTW2 right now anyway. And you can just about use the same time period as well. I would love to see the buildings in such a game. And as an expansion pack, you don't need to have as broad a scope as you would the original product, since people who've already purchased MTW2 and like the game would probably buy the expansion pack anyway.

[LordKhaine]

The Napoleonic era or Shogun 2... those strike me as the obvious two. And I'd be very happy with either. Beyond the Napoleonic era the engine really wouldn't work. I suppose there are many other potential time periods to pick, but many of them wouldn't pack the same punch as the two I listed.

As for the expansion.. willing to bet it's called *something* Invasion. Spanish Invasion?

[Derfasciti]

As an ardent Napoleon fan, I like the idea of a Napoleonic TW. However, I too like the idea of a new Shogun. Great fun. My problem with MTWs is realism.- Was it possible to have a medieval country take over any other large ones, let alone all of Europe? I doubt it. While I still like the game I do find it difficult to bear for realism and RP reasons.

[Musashi]

Shogun's been done. They should do a Romance of the Three Kingdoms Total War ;)

[Forward Observer]

For some strange reason I have the nagging suspicion that the current Central American conquest section of the game might have originally been a planned expansion, but it eventually got tagged on the the initial release to give the game a bit more content.

That's why I am a bit skeptical about the Americas being the expansion, but I could be totally off base here.

While I agree that Shogun is more suited to a winner take all type of game, I just wonder if a remake would have the market appeal that execs at CA and Sega would need to invest the time and money in development.

Also they have already developed quite a bit of the physics needed for muzzle loading arms and artillery. This would have limited usefulness in a new Shogun game.

Doing a NapoleonicTW might not be that easy though--The massive sizes and varieties of the armies involved in the large battles of the era would be pretty daunting to replicate and morph into a enjoyable and easily playable game for the masses.

Just think of all the variety of uniforms and equipment that would have to be modeled, but wouldn't they be oh so pretty to see in action.

Cheers

[Ignoramus]

One on Ancient Greece or even earlier would certainly be interesting and enjoyable. However, it is almost certain that the next Total War game will be on Napoleon

[rosscoliosis]

I have no idea why they haven't simply expanded the campaign map to the east yet. So perhaps historically China was never conquered by a European nation. But there a billion things you can do in the Total War games that never happened, and that's OFFICIALLY one of the big draws of the game! Why the heck not let us at it?! :(
Keep expanding that map, let us conquer THE GLOBE. Haha ;-)
'Course then the campaign map would have to wrap-around somehow, but I can't imagine that'd be too hard to accomplish.

[JCoyote]

Keep expanding that map, let us conquer THE GLOBE. Haha ;-)
'Course then the campaign map would have to wrap-around somehow, but I can't imagine that'd be too hard to accomplish.

I dont think it'd be hard from a technical standpoint, but it might be a bit difficult to get the interface convenient enough.

And in all honesty, for fighting in the Colonial/Napoleonic etc era, I think the whole world is almost a necessity... wars did stretch around the world then. But the key to making it work would be having victory conditions OTHER than controlling everything there is.

[ChaosLord]

They probably haven't expanded it because of the problems the AI has even waging wars on their neighbors, much less a power far away. Check out some of the expanded maps for RTW, you'll see some regions stay rebel the entire game because the AI just doesn't have any real idea what its doing. But as for the next TW or expansion I too would love one based on China on Japan. Another interesting way to go might be one set earlier during the Muslim invasions/expansions/conversions. Of course that might bug all the people who never want to see a game not centered on Europeans.

[Lorenzo_H]

There are plenty of sword and sorcery games. I don't want to see that. There are TONS of them out there, it's a glutted market. Just like WW2 games.

I want to see history, with arguable comparisons of real or probable things. Not how yet another D&D'er thinks make believe elves should compare against make believe dwarves.

It's cool to have some games based on reality. I'm not interested in seeing airstrikes by broom riding harry potter kids or people arguing about how long it would take for a dragon to spit fire "in real life".

200% agreed.

[diotavelli]

Everyone seems to have missed the obvious area for an expansions - India and the East Indies.

The Portugese, Spanish, Dutch and English all competed heavily to get control and/or trade there. In different circumstances, the French and Germans might have done. The Venetians and Genoans were no mean sailors, so it's not impossible that they might have tried.

The regions themselves were fascinating at this point. India was largely Hindu but (I think) the Sikhs arose around this time and Buddhism was still present in areas. There was massive ethic diversity to go with the cultural diversity. The country was phenomenally rich in resources but difficult for an invader to subdue. And then the Mughals arrived - an exceptionally strong Muslim offshoot of the Mongols, who conquered all of Northern India (pretty much) and dominated much of the rest of it.

The islands further East were resource rich and even more difficult to control, with an ethnic, cultural and religious mix that made India look straightforward.

And, from CA's point of view, it shouldn't be overlooked that the region today contains around 2 billion people, a large number of whom are increasingly technically literate....

[Tsar Simeon]

Bulgaria!!!!!!!! WE NEED BULGARIA IN! There is only 2 orthodox factions as of now, i think its time for 2 more. Bulgaria and Serbia!

[ASPER THE GREAT]

The expansion will most likely be "America" it is already set up Mayan's, Aztecs, Incas "South/Central America". The game engine is the same indians have club, spear, jav/bow, knife (melee weapons) against the Europeans sword, lance, spear/bill, and the introduction of the "horse", gun powder units are the same hand cannon, abq, musk... Nothing changes for the battles. "Agent's" Priest can convert 100%, Spy's homeboy just don't fit in recruit local boy, Diplomat/Merch trade 100%, Ass not much use . North America is a different kind of monster if they stay in the island's, Florida, Geo, Carolina, o.k. but as soon as we move up the coast to Virg, NY, Canada way, that takes huge map, ton's of different tribes Eng, Fran, Spain, Port, all fighting each other plus the indians for control of the "NEW WORLD". Stay with me guys !!!! If the developers stay within South/Central America & Islands/Florida area no biggie that is the expansion short, same game a few tweaks and yes we will all buy and play. In turn that will open up the new game "Napoleon TW" first, then the French & Indian Wars/American Revolution. That will give the developers plenty of time to work on all the new aspects of "Total War" 16??-18??. Thanks for listening to my I figured that was 10 cents worth .

[FrantzITA]

i think that the expansion of the Zuskanian's tribes in middle pohonistria should be the next Total War

[Ja'chyra]

Lol, who'd have thought everyone would disagree.

My opinion is that an expansion should concentrate on improving what we have now, better diplomacy and sea battles.

The next game is a different matter though, I don't like the gunpowder era's myself but I would prefer that over the America's I doubt I would even buy it.